A view of the Piazzetta by moonlight, Venice

Caffi was an active and prolific artist. He studied in Belluno and Padua and attended the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice between 1827 and 1831, before forging a career as a vedute painter, not only of Venice, but also of other cities throughout Italy and abroad.
The present work shows a Romantic response by the artist to this subject, with the quiet moonlit tones and subtle gradations reminiscent of the artist's German contemporaries. However Caffi also often took a strikingly modern approach to his subject, exploiting his deep understanding of perspective. In particular, he often painted buildings at close quarters, flattening the subject into patterns of colour, reminiscent of the Welsh artist, Thomas Jones.